Irish Travellers are an indigenous, ethnic minority group in the Republic of Ireland that have long considered themselves culturally distinct from the settled, mainstream population due to their shared history, language, value system, and customs that are unique to their group, most notably their tradition of itinerancy. The Traveller experience in the national education system has been marked by low achievement, high absenteeism, and segregated schooling. In 2003, only 5% of Traveller children successfully transitioned from primary to secondary school. Part of this lack of success can be attributed to the disconnect between the culture of the Traveller and the homogenized culture of the school. Traveller culture has been neither valued nor respected by the education system and, in some cases, has been actively denigrated by both students and teachers. This symbolic border of ethnicity has been used as justification for the exclusion of Traveller children from the educational space available to the average Irish child. This paper will be a critical, theoretical examination of the environmental, social, and psychological barriers that Travellers must overcome to participate equally in the Irish education system and society, as well as the role that NGOs play in educational and cultural advocacy, agency, and liberation from social stigma and prejudice.

McFaden, Kelly."NGOs as an avenue for liberation: The case of the Irish travellers" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the 55th Annual Conference of the Comparative and International Education Society, Fairmont Le Reine Elizabeth, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Apr 30, 2011<Not Available>. 2014-11-26 <http://citation.allacademic.com/meta/p494057_index.html>

APA Citation:

McFaden, K. , 2011-04-30"NGOs as an avenue for liberation: The case of the Irish travellers" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the 55th Annual Conference of the Comparative and International Education Society, Fairmont Le Reine Elizabeth, Montreal, Quebec, Canada<Not Available>. 2014-11-26 from http://citation.allacademic.com/meta/p494057_index.html

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished ManuscriptReview Method: Peer ReviewedAbstract: Irish Travellers are an indigenous, ethnic minority group in the Republic of Ireland that have long considered themselves culturally distinct from the settled, mainstream population due to their shared history, language, value system, and customs that are unique to their group, most notably their tradition of itinerancy. The Traveller experience in the national education system has been marked by low achievement, high absenteeism, and segregated schooling. In 2003, only 5% of Traveller children successfully transitioned from primary to secondary school. Part of this lack of success can be attributed to the disconnect between the culture of the Traveller and the homogenized culture of the school. Traveller culture has been neither valued nor respected by the education system and, in some cases, has been actively denigrated by both students and teachers. This symbolic border of ethnicity has been used as justification for the exclusion of Traveller children from the educational space available to the average Irish child. This paper will be a critical, theoretical examination of the environmental, social, and psychological barriers that Travellers must overcome to participate equally in the Irish education system and society, as well as the role that NGOs play in educational and cultural advocacy, agency, and liberation from social stigma and prejudice.